| ...International Economic Relations |
COMCEC...
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| Original : English
REPORT
(İstanbul, 18-21 October 2001) |
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| 1.
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The Seventeenth Session of the Standing Committee
for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of the Islamic
Conference (COMCEC) was held from 18-21 October 2001. The Session was preceded
by the Meeting of Senior Officials on 18-19 October, held under the Chairmanship
of H.E. Dr. Akın İZMİRLİOĞLU, Undersecretary of the State Planning Organization
of the Republic of Turkey, to consider items of the Draft Agenda and prepare
Draft Resolutions.
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| 2.
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The Session was attended by the representatives of the
following Member States of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC):
1. Republic of Albania
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22. Kingdom of Morocco
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| The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Bosna-Herzegovina
and Kingdom of Thailand, participated in the Session as observers and the
Republic of Macedonia as guest.
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| 3.
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The Session was attended by the OIC General Secretariat,
and the following subsidiary, affiliated and specialized OIC institutions:
1. Statistical, Economic and Social Research and
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| 4.
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The Session was also attended by the representatives of
the following international organizations:
1. Economic Committee of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) 2. Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) 3.Federation of Consultants from Islamic Countries (FCIC) 4.United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) 5. World Trade Organization (WTO) 6. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) (A copy of the List of Participants of the Seventeenth Session
of the COMCEC is attached as Annex 1.)
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Opening Session |
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| 5. |
The Opening Ceremony of the Seventeenth Session of the COMCEC was held under the chairmanship of H.E. Ahmet Necdet SEZER, President of the Republic of Turkey and Chairman of the COMCEC. |
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| 6.
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H.E. Ahmet Necdet SEZER, in welcoming the delegates to Istanbul, expressed his thanks and appreciations to the Member States, the OIC General Secretariat and other OIC institutions for their continuing interest and constructive contributions to the work of the COMCEC. H.E. SEZER stated that globalization necessitated a fair distribution of opportunities as well as risks, indicated that the world was as yet far from this fair distribution. H.E. SEZER, touching upon the widening income gap between rich and poor countries of the world, stressed the importance of joint efforts to alleviate poverty worldwide. President SEZER stated that in an era of economic alliances, economic cooperation constitutes an excellent opportunity for the Member Countries. H.E. SEZER concluded his address by wishing success to the delegates. (A copy of the text of the Inaugural Statement of H.E. Ahmet Necdet SEZER is attached as Annex 2.) |
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| 7.
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H.E. Abdelouahed BELKEZIZ, Secretary General of the OIC also addressed the Session. In his statement, H.E. Abdelouahed BELKEZIZ expressed his profound thanks and appreciation to H.E. Ahmet Necdet SEZER, President of the Republic of Turkey and Chairman of the COMCEC for his wisdom in guiding the work of the COMCEC. He also thanked the Government of the Republic of Turkey for its active interest in promoting economic cooperation among the OIC Member States. H.E. BELKEZIZ stressed the importance of the recommendations of the Experts Group Meeting on Accelerating the Implementation of the Plan of Action, which would be considered by COMCEC and highlighted that promotion of political will was the key recommendation in this regard. (A copy of the address of H.E. Abdelouahed BELKEZIZ, Secretary General of the OIC is attached as Annex 3.) |
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| 8.
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The Heads of Delegation of the Syrian Arab Republic, Republic of Azerbaijan and Mozambique made statements on behalf of the Arab, Asian and African OIC groups of Member States, respectively. In their statements, they expressed their thanks and appreciation to H.E. Ahmet Necdet SEZER for his wise guidance as the Chairman of the COMCEC. The Heads of Delegation referring to the importance of actual implementation of the resolutions of the COMCEC, stressed the need for further strengthening economic cooperation among the Member States. They also thanked the President, the Government and People of Turkey for their continued support to economic cooperation among OIC Member States as well as for the warm welcome and excellent arrangements made for the Meeting. (The texts of the Statements made on behalf of the Arab, Asian and African Member States are attached as Annexes 4, 5 and 6 respectively.) |
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9.
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In his statement delivered at the opening ceremony, H.E. Ahmed Mohamed ALI, the President of the Islamic Development Bank, summed up the activities of the Islamic Development Bank and highlighted the progress achieved by the Bank in terms of the tasks assigned to it by the COMCEC. (The text of the Statement of the President of IDB is attached as Annex 7.) |
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Following the Opening Ceremony, H.E. Ahmet Necdet SEZER received the Heads of Delegation. |
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Ministerial Working Session |
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| 11. |
The Ministerial Working Session of the Seventeenth Session of the COMCEC was held under the Chairmanship of H.E. Dr. Devlet BAHÇELİ, Minister of State and Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey. |
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| 12.
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The Ministers adopted the Draft Agenda of the Seventeenth Session of the COMCEC and decided to take up Agenda Item 8 on the Exchange of Views on “The Effects of Non-Tariff Barriers on Foreign Trade of the Member Countries”. (The Agenda of the Seventeenth Session of the COMCEC is attached as Annex 8.) |
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| 13.
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H.E. Dr. Akın İZMİRLİOĞLU, Undersecretary of the State Planning Organization of the Republic of Turkey and Chairman of the Senior Officials Meeting, made a presentation summarizing the outcome of the deliberations of the Senior Officials on “The Effects of Non-Tariff Barriers on Foreign Trade of the Member Countries”. (The text of presentation of the Chairman of the Senior Officials is attached as Annex 9.) |
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| 14.
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Thereafter, the Heads of Delegation of the Republic of Turkey, State of Qatar, Syrian Arab Republic, Republic of Iraq, Republic of Guinea, State of Kuwait, The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Republic of Tunisia, Kingdom of Morocco, Republic of Nigeria, Republic of Mali, Republic of Indonesia, Arab Republic of Egypt and Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus presented their country reports on “The Effects of Non-Tariff Barriers on Foreign Trade of the Member Countries”. (Country reports, submitted in writing, are available separately). |
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| 15. |
The Ministers then adopted Resolution OIC/COMCEC/17-01/RES(1) and Resolution OIC/COMCEC/17-01/RES(2). (Resolution OIC/COMCEC/17-01/RES(1) and Resolution OIC/COMCEC/17-01/RES(2) are attached as Annexes 10 and 11.) |
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| 16.
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The Ministers considered and approved the recommendations of the Expert Group Meeting for Accelerating the Implementation of the OIC Plan of Action for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (EGM) contained in the Report (OIC/COMCEC/EGM-PA/01/REP). (The Report of the EGM is attached as Annex 12.) |
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| 17.
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The Sessional Committee met on 19 October 2001 and was attended by the representative of the General Secretariat, the COMCEC Coordination Office, SESRTCIC, ICDT, ICCI, IUT, OISA and IDB. The Meeting concluded its report.. (The Report of the Sessional Committee is attached as Annex 13.) |
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Closing Session |
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| 18. |
The Closing Session of the Seventeenth Session of the COMCEC was held under the chairmanship of H.E. Dr. Devlet BAHÇELİ, Minister of State and Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey. |
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| 19. |
A resume of Resolutions adopted at the Ministerial Session was given by H.E. Ambassador Qazi HUMAYUN, Head of Delegation of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Rapporteur of the Meeting. |
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| 20.
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At a special ceremony, during the Closing Session, the Statute of the Islamic Council of Civil Aviation was signed by the State of Qatar, the Agreement on the Promotion, Protection and Guarantee of Investments was signed by the Syrian Arab Republic and the Statute for the Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries and the Statute of the Islamic Council of Civil Aviation were signed by Burkina Faso. |
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| 21.
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In his statement delivered at the Closing Session, H.E. Dr. Abdelouahed BELKEZIZ, Secretary General of OIC, stressed the significance of the outcome of the Seventeenth Session of COMCEC, particularly the approval of the recommendation on accelerating the implementation of the Plan of Action. Referring to the exchange of views held during the Session, he said that the various recommendations adopted by the Session on removal of non-tariff barriers would contribute towards expanding intra-OIC trade. He praised the keen interest and wise guidance of H.E. Ahmet Necdet SEZER and the Government of the Republic of Turkey in promoting economic cooperation among Member States. He also assured the meeting of the full cooperation of the OIC General Secretariat in the implementation of the decisions of COMCEC. (The text of the Statement of the Secretary General of the OIC, is attached as Annex 14.) |
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| 22.
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In his statement made on behalf of all participating countries, H.E. Monnet Leon Emmanuel, Minister of Mining and Energy and Head of Delegation of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire expressed his deep appreciation for the significant results achieved at the Session and for the wise and able leadership and keen interest of President Ahmet Necdet SEZER in achieving the objectives of the OIC economic cooperation. He also extended profound thanks to H.E. Devlet BAHÇELİ, Minister of State and Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey, for his excellent manner in presiding over the Meeting. He also thanked the General Secretariat, COMCEC the Coordination Office and the subsidiary, affiliated and specialized institutions of the OIC, for their contributions to the successful conclusion of the Meeting. |
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| 23.
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In his closing statement, H.E. Dr. Devlet BAHÇELİ, Minister of State and Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey, expressed his thanks and appreciation to the delegations, the General Secretariat and the relevant OIC institutions, as well as to the representatives of the other international organizations for their valuable efforts and constructive contributions to the work of the Standing Committee and to the supporting staff and interpreters for their tireless efforts which contributed to the success of the Meeting. Highlighting the significance of promoting cooperation among the private sectors and expansion of trade, H.E. BAHÇELİ underlined the importance of a trade-oriented cooperation. H.E. BAHÇELİ indicating that expanding the export capacities of the member countries is vital for the intra-OC economic cooperation, stressed the significance of the decisions taken at the Session and wished delegates a safe journey home. (The text of the closing statement of H.E. BAHÇELİ is attached as Annex 15.) |
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| © SPO.FER, MIC, 7 .11 .2001 |